On Saturday afternoon, Billy Te Kahika Jr was the star attraction at an Aotea Square rally replete with Covid-19 conspiracy theorists. How did a blues musician end up New Zealand’s premier peddler of conspiracy nonsense? David Farrier went searching on the most powerful disinformation network of them all: Facebook. Read more from David Farrier on … Read more
For years, people have been sending David Farrier photos of his stock model doppelgänger – a man who appears in every advert under the sun, from gynecological practices to 3-for-1 pizza deals. So Farrier decided to track him down. Every week I get a message from at least one person: “David, is this you in … Read more
David Farrier looks at the way two conspiracy theories have merged into something very nasty online and into real world violence. Over the weekend we saw another suspicious fire at a cellphone tower, this time in South Auckland. This comes off the back of a string of arson attacks over the last six weeks: 10 … Read more
An upcoming three-day conference in Auckland aims to ‘envision our future’, but the Ed Hillary-branded event appears to feature some odd guests, including one who thinks astrology can explain important historic events, and a self-help guru who’s been labelled a fraud. David Farrier reports. A new year, a new pricey three-day conference, this time courtesy … Read more
The father-and-son team behind Zach, the medical AI that seemed too good to be true, have been found by Internal Affairs to have engaged in ‘serious wrongdoing’, with the trust providing ‘inconsistent, misleading and untruthful answers’. David Farrier looks at what went wrong, and tries to make sense of a very, very perplexing story. Read … Read more
Summer reissue: What’s it like to wait over a decade for a new record from one of your favourite bands? David Farrier writes about the joys, perils and embarrassment of being a Tool fan in 2019. This was originally published on 3 August, 2019. Before you say it, let me: Tool fans are the worst. … Read more
David Farrier has been writing about clamping enthusiast Michael Organ for nearly three years. In this latest installment, the logical thing finally happens: the New Zealand government rolls up its sleeves and changes the law. Catch up with the extraordinary saga of the clamp-happy Bashford Antiques: Parts I to V are here When Michael Organ … Read more
The online magazine that boasted a bigger Instagram following than most New Zealand media has abruptly come to an end. So what was Auckland Mag? Why did it exist? And who was its mysterious founder Dan Rolph? David Farrier investigates. The reply from Dan Rolph at Auckland Magazine came quickly. It came quickly because it … Read more
What’s it like to wait over a decade for a new record from one of your favourite bands? David Farrier writes about the joys, perils and embarrassment of being a Tool fan in 2019. Before you say it, let me: Tool fans are the worst. “You tall faggot!” a Tool fan yelled at me during … Read more
After watching a mind-bending film about a dying magician that reminded him of Tickled, David Farrier interviewed the director, only to have his interview disappear. This has never happened before. I’ve never lost audio from an interview, and it’s the most frustrating feeling I’ve felt in years. I can see it sitting right in front … Read more
David Farrier dives deep into the Hotel Bed Jumping Community on Instagram and is quickly told: ‘Should you pursue with your article and publish it we will be taking action’. He chose to pursue the article. I’m a big fan of Instagram, and an even bigger fan of what Instagram influencers are getting up to. And recently … Read more
The bizarre story that started back in 2016 just won’t leave David Farrier alone. The saga now includes the courts, the police and a very stylish velvet suit. It’s just over a year since I wrote the conclusion to my Bashford Antiques saga. That four-part series focussed on an Auckland antiques store that had turned … Read more
Since writing about adults with fetishes exploiting children on YouTube, David Farrier has become familiar with the reality for kids on the wild west of YouTube. He explores the troubling subculture of videos targeting children created by adult hypnotists. “Um… goodbye YouTube. I’m serious. I have to delete my channel because of perverts,” says James … Read more
An artificial intelligence bot called Zach is creating a stir in the medical community. A doctor in Christchurch is teaching it to write patient notes. An Otago professor has it interpreting ECG results. But AI experts are not convinced. David Farrier goes in search of Zach. This post was originally published 6 March 2018 Last … Read more
After writing about fetish videos involving kids on YouTube two years ago, the problem has only got worse, writes David Farrier. Way worse. When will Google do something about it? Editor’s note: While we have endeavoured to protect the identities of the children involved, we recognise that by publishing this story their privacy may be … Read more
Earlier this year David Farrier captured video footage of a man engaging in a musical performance in front of two dogs who were in the act of making love. So Farrier went in search of the New Zealand hero who played the ukulele to two horned up doggos. In early May, I was showing a … Read more
Tickled co-director David Farrier becomes suspicious about yet another website that is very quick to point out that it is not porn. Definitely not porn. Update, October 30 – Splat! HQ has been in touch with the following response: With regards to the “This is not an adult website” statement we had on our site. Yes, … Read more
David Farrier delves into the 30-year-old mystery of Richard A Kontos, a man with a dream of a better world. A man obsessed with talking peas and the tiny town of Peasville. It all started with an email. “A man named Richard A Kontos from Daisy Hill, Queensland, has for the past 30 odd years … Read more
David Farrier loves a good awards ceremony, especially one for which he’s nominated. But what are the New Zealand LGBTI Awards? On April 30, I was nominated for an LGBTI award. I learned this via a tweet from The New Zealand LGBTI Awards’ Twitter account, which described the awards as “Rewarding those who make a … Read more
David Farrier finds out why some men are paying Auckland musician Princess Chelsea hundreds of dollars for one song. Princess Chelsea is one of my favourite New Zealand musicians. Some of her songs are massive and big, like this one which has 40 million views on YouTube. Others are a bit smaller, like ‘Yulia‘ (only … Read more
Last month, David Farrier discovered a mysterious film festival that was confusing the hell out of people. In part 2, Farrier slowly went crazy trying to find out who was actually behind the festival. Now, the mysterious AIFF has finally come to pass. OK, so where were we? That’s right. A man called Mitesh Patel, … Read more
David Farrier has slowly been going crazy trying to get an answer about who’s actually behind the odd film festival that might not even play your stupid film anyway. Sometimes when you write something saying something is possibly a little bit bad, people get in touch saying you are bad. “Well, y’know, once it’s published … Read more
The “Auckland International Film Festival” is Definitely Not the “New Zealand International Film Festival”, mmmkay? David Farrier attempts to work out what’s going on. Another year, another film festival or film awards. But it all gets a bit confusing when you live in Auckland, New Zealand. Last year, it was the “New Zealand Film Awards” that … Read more
In the new film Isle of Dogs, David Farrier says director Wes Anderson has produced his most artistic, political and detailed film yet. My introduction to Wes Anderson came back in 2001, when I rented The Royal Tenenbaums from Video Ezy in Tauranga. I was blown away by this utterly bizarre, beautiful thing I … Read more
David Farrier talks to one of the most wildly enigmatic frontmen in music, Maynard James Keenan, and his partner in crime Billy Howerdel about 18 years of friendship, music, and being very, very enigmatic. Back in the late 90s, Billy Howerdel was hard at work on a highly anticipated new Guns N’Roses record. After working … Read more
Eighteen months after David Farrier first reported on the strange antics of Bashford Antiques, he returns a final time to bid it farewell. Catch up on parts one, two, and three of the Bashford Antiques saga. It was shocking, seeing that removal truck in the driveway. I pulled over immediately and hopped out of my … Read more
Seven years after first interviewing him about having sex with a dolphin, David Farrier reconnects with Malcolm Brenner for an update. “When I went to Floridaland in November 1970, I had absolutely no intention or inclination to have sex with a dolphin.” I’ve never been more annoyed at not thinking of an idea first: get … Read more
Earlier this week David Farrier lifted the lid on the very strange case of the Christchurch AI that would supposedly revolutionise global medical practice. What has he discovered since? Since writing about Zach, the AI that increasingly appears to be neither Artificial nor Intelligent, all the main players have fallen strangely silent. Associate Professor Pickering … Read more
An artificial intelligence bot called Zach is creating a stir in the medical community. A doctor in Christchurch is teaching it to write patient notes. An Otago professor has it interpreting ECG results. But AI experts are not convinced. David Farrier goes in search of Zach. Last week I heard murmurings that a New Zealand … Read more